Cider - Fat Grey Tom's Cider

Pipelining your homebrew

Note: This was originally posted on my blog, “Put some cilantro on it!” Since moving to New Mexico, homebrewing has taken a back seat to everything else. I have 15 gallons of cider (in three separate batches) hanging out against one wall in my kitchen, a big bottle of iodopher sitting in my cabinet and… Continue reading Pipelining your homebrew

NM AW #1 – Starting

Cider with lid in primary, above. Sani bucket below.

The Fat Grey Tom’s Cider of old, is, alas, dead. I, Wheeler, moved to New Mexico for a job. Bryce also moved away. Leo stayed in Reno. After nearly three years in New Mexico (three years in July) I’ve decided to start brewing again and the easiest place to restart is with a simple cider.… Continue reading NM AW #1 – Starting

An Experiment in Cider Yeasts

Four 4-gallons and a 5-gallon, beginning to ferment.

One of our local homebrew stores was having a sale on yeasts a month, or maybe longer, ago. The yeasts were about to go out of date so they were marked down and low and behold, they were not many common yeasts. In fact, they were all White Labs vials, four of them to be… Continue reading An Experiment in Cider Yeasts

Apfelwein #5 Secondaried

We secondaried both AW #5 and AW #5C. These two, unlike any other ciders we’d made before, were made with the Windsor ale yeast suggested to us by our LHBS (Local HomeBrew Store.) Sadly, everything tasted like salt to Bryce and I. Sadly, we’re not entirely sure why. Which means the jury’s still out. But… Continue reading Apfelwein #5 Secondaried

Apfelwein #5 (AW)

AW #5 in its fermenter.

Apfelwein #5 was mixed on November 19th. (See the publish date? Regardless of when the article goes live, it’s backdated to the date of the event.) We used cups instead of grams to figure out how to get our sugar levels right. Otherwise, AW #5 is noticeable for a single reason, besides being our fifth… Continue reading Apfelwein #5 (AW)

Apfelwein #5C

The 1.5 cups of brown sugar gave the cider a very dark color. We couldn't do measurements in metric because the scale was out of battery.

Apfelwein #5C, aka, should be hooch-tastic but will probably just take forever to ferment. I write this because AW #5C (I don’t know why I settled on the C nomenclature for the sixth gallon on normally 5-gallon batches) is only 1 gallon of apple juice but has an extra 1.5 cups of brown sugar added… Continue reading Apfelwein #5C

AW #3C — Bottled

AW #3C had a dark hue, which doesn't come through here.

AW #3C was a first for us. We’d read that brown sugar gives a “cidery” taste to alcohol, so, we figured that we’d increase the sugar content of a cider, a 1 gallon batch, exclusively with brown sugar. AC #3C and AW #3 were taken out and taste tested at the exact same time and… Continue reading AW #3C — Bottled

Raspberry Apfelwein #3

Apfelwein #3, we decided, should be a batch of few things. We bottled AW #3C straight, no lactose, just priming sugar. We also bottled one gallon of AW #3 with just priming sugar, no lactose (sweetening sugar, unfermentable by yeast.) The other four gallons we stuck into a bucket. In between, we stuck four packages… Continue reading Raspberry Apfelwein #3

Winter Spice Graff

The Winter Spice Graff appears to have been a mistake. Graff, by itself, is great. Add raspberries (we added raspberry liqueur) and it tastes incredible, something you’d be willing to buy. Alas, when we added allspice and cinnamon, the Graff took a turn for the worst. No, no, it took no turn. It went from… Continue reading Winter Spice Graff

Apfelwein #1 Racked on Blackberries

We had blackberries, frozen, on hand. Apparently, much like the Python’s elderberries, they do not go well. Unlike our raspberry concoctions, the blackberry cider didn’t taste very good. It was always good enough to be drunk, but no more. We argued over who had to drink it. The label’s nice though. Just, we don’t make it… Continue reading Apfelwein #1 Racked on Blackberries

Apfelwein Batch #1 Racked on Raspberries

Our raspberry experiments are proving to be wildly succesful. Our first batch of raspberry racked cider, made with a wine yeast none-the-less, is all gone because it just tasted so damn delicious. It also made pretty pictures. We’re working on four gallons, but made with Nottingham Ale Yeast. Raspberries were boiled (12 oz. of raspberries… Continue reading Apfelwein Batch #1 Racked on Raspberries

Apfelwein #1 Racked on Cinnamon

We racked one gallon of AW #1 on top of cinnamon sticks that had been boiled in water. The taste is pleasant, mildly like Christmas. However, it doesn’t appear to heat well. We’ve bottled it still and it’s sitting in a 12-pack in our newly reorganized work room.